Twitter may be preparing to jump into the mobile commerce game. According to leaked documents obtained by the UK Telegraph, the social network may soon make it possible for its 232 million users to purchase products directly from their mobile devices. The documents suggest that the service would be called Twitter Commerce, but there are not indications when this service would be made available for certain. Moreover, the leaked documents cannot necessarily be considered accurate and they could be nothing more than simple rumors.Twitter and Mobile Commerce. The leaked documents suggest that the social network's mobile commerce endeavors will come …

According to recent tablet commerce data issued by Strategy Analytics, the shipments of these mobile devices reached 76.8 million units last year, which was an increase of 20 percent over the 64 million units that had been shipped in 2012.Tablet Commerce - iPad Success. The data from Strategy Analytics showed that in terms of the share of operating systems in tablet commerce, Google's Android was in the lead with a massive 62 percent. Overall tablet commerce was very strong last year. It saw growth of 33 percent when compared to the year before, reaching 227 million units.

Amazon is tightening its grip on showrooming with a new image recognition application feature that cuts down on the number of steps it takes for a consumer to find and buy a product. The new image recognition feature is called flow and builds on a previous bar code-based app technology that let consumers scan UPC codes on products to then shop them from Amazon. Amazon's newest iteration of app-based showrooming comes at the same time that the company is trying to cozy up to retailers with a possible mobile point-of-sale service.

Microsoft's deal with Foursquare does not push location services forward significantly, but it does point to how such offerings are increasingly table stakes in the mobile space. For Microsoft, whose mobile strategy is still looking for traction, the deal should help it enhance the mobile user experience. However, Google and even Apple, through a relationship with Yelp, are ahead in the game. "Up until now, marketers have had to rely on consumers being aware of Foursquare, downloading it and using it in order to benefit from the data about their behaviors," said Eric Bader, chief marketing officer of RadiumOne, San …

Affluent consumers hold mixed opinions about the extent to which brands should leverage Big Data to tailor specific messages, according to a new report by The Luxury Institute. Seventy-one percent of consumers appreciate receiving notifications when an item that they had wanted comes back in stock, while around half enjoy receiving notifications when an item related to a past purchase goes on sale. The quarterly wealth report argues that as long as a customer-centric atmosphere is maintained across channels, new technologies can be implemented seamlessly. "Easy access to a knowledgeable brand representative is a priority," said Meera Raja, director of …

Germany and Palo Alto-based m-commerce platform Shopgate has made its first acquisition: The Creathor Ventures and Northcap-backed company has acquired Magento developer MagCorp for an undisclosed fee. The move - which, since it's buying developer talent and expertise, might best be categorised as an acqui-hire - will see MagCorp's four developers join Shopgate's existing 132 strong team at its campus in Butzbach, Germany. Shopgate lets merchants build a mobile store-front using its platform, enabling them to be up and running with either a native app or browser-based m-commerce offering. Where it claims to beat much of the competition is that …

Now Indian online shoppers will get to do what they love to do the most and that is bargain. Paytm, the consumer facing m-commerce brand of mobile Internet company One97, has launched a shopping mobile app that can help shoppers to literally bargain for a deal before buying. Vijay Shekhar, founder of One97 and Paytm, said that with this feature, the company aims to get about 1 million orders a day next year, up from 3 lakh orders or transactions currently. "Bargain is ingrained in nearly every Indian and is part of our everyday shopping. We are giving over-the-counter experience," …

Deal aggregator application Clutch is adding bar code scanning capabilities into its app to help streamline the coupon redemption process. Using the new technology, consumers can scan loyalty, gift and membership cards to create a digital version within the Clutch app. The mobile bar code scanning feature works for Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 devices and is powered by Mobeam. "Bar codes continue to be the most prevalent way for consumers to redeem their gift and loyalty cards and coupons at the point-of-sale," said Andy O'Dell, chief commercial officer at Clutch, Philadelphia.

San Francisco-based Celery received $2 million for its seed funding round, a statement about the funding said. The financing came from Y Combinator, SV Angel, Max Levchin and other investors. The seed money will be used to build the team and develop the features of the platform so that it becomes an embeddable, mobile-centric storefront that all merchants can use. As a "pre-commerce" store builder dedicated to online and mobile shopping, Celery enables companies to offer their products before they are ready to ship. Device manufacturers like Pebble Smartwatch and August Smart Lock and up-and-coming brands like Bohemian Guitars and …

The mobile commerce field is currently awash with a variety of services that are attempting to capture the attention of consumers. Competition among these services is fierce as mobile commerce is seen to have a very promising and lucrative future. The multitude of services available to consumers has created an environment in which no single mobile commerce platform is considered to be mainstream. In Australia, a mobile payments firm is seeking to create some unity in the competitive field. Eftpos is planning to bring all mobile payments together by introducing a cloud-based service that is meant to make mobile commerce, …